絲綢信息史課件History of Silk Information

AncientChinaTheintroductionofsilkproductioncanbetracedbacktoaround2,640BCinChina.Si-Ling-ChiThemostcommontaleaboutsilkoriginsbeginswhenSi-Ling-Chi,aChineseEmpress,waswalkingthroughhergardenholdinghercupoftea.Asilkwormcocoonfellintohercupandwhenitwaspulledout,itbegantounravelintolong,beautifulstring,orsilk.Si-Ling-ChiInvestigatingtheoriginofthecocoon,shelookeduptofindamulberrytreehangingoverherandmanysmallsilkwormscrawlingaroundit.Sheconcludedthatthecocoonmusthavebeenfromthesecaterpillars.ThisdiscoverybegantheproductionofsilkinChina.SecretofSilkTheRoyalFamilyofChinakeptthesecretofsilktothemselvesforaround2,500years.Theysoldthematerialtorulersofthewestbuttheydidnotrevealthesecretofhowitwassourced.Infact,inChinatherewasapenaltyforanyonewhorevealedthesourceoftheshinythread.Thispenaltywasdeath.MisconceptionsThesilkcamefromthepetalsofcolourfulflowersintheChinesedesert.Silkwasmadeofsoftsoil.Silkcamefromananimalsimilartoaspiderthatatesomuchitwouldburstopenandsilkwasfoundinsidethem.Silkwasafuzzthatwasfoundonparticularleavesofcertaintrees.Misconceptions,orwrongideas,wereformedabouthowsilkwasproduced.Theseincluded:StoryOneTherearemanystoriesonhowthesilksecretescapedintothewiderworld.

StoryoneisthestoryofhowtwomonkstoldEmperorJustinianofConstantinopletheyhaddiscoveredthesecretofsilkaftertheirvisittoChina.ThemonksweresentbacktoChinatocollectsomemulberryshootsandsilkwormeggsandbringthembacktoConstantinoplefortheEmperorsothathecouldraisethesilkwormshimselfandcreatehisownsilk.StoryOneManyyearslater,inaround552AD,themonksreturnedtoConstantinoplewiththerequestedeggsandshoots.Theyhadhiddentheminsidehollowedoutwalkingstickssoasnottobecaught.Thisishowthesilkindustryinthewestbegan.ThesecretsoonspreadfromConstantinoplethroughoutEurope.ThetrekthemonkswalkedbetweenConstantinopleandChinaisnowknownastheSilkRoad.StoryTwoAnotherlegendofhowthesecretofsilkspreadwasthatsomeJapanesemencapturedfourChinesemaidens,whoknewthesilksecret,aswellasmulberryshootsandeggs.StoryThreeAnotherstoryisthataChineseprincessmarriedanIndianprince.Shesmuggledsilkwormeggsandmulberryshootsinherheaddressandthose,alongwithherknowledgeofsilkproduction,meantthattheculturespreadtoIndia.RivalryRegardlessofwhichstoryistruetherestofthehistoryisknownanddocumented.Inthe13thcenturytheEnglishbeganmakingsilk,yetduetotheircool,dampclimate,theireffortsweremainlyunsuccessful.In1603,silkwormeggsandmulberryseedsweresent,bytheorderofKingJames1,toVirginiaandthusthesilkculturebeganinAmerica.ThiswasinanefforttohavetheAmericancolonistsraisethesilkfortheEnglish,inordertorivaltheFrenchandItaliansinsilkproduction.VirginiaandGeorgiaproducedsilkonandoffuntiltheydiscoveredothermoreprofitableindustriesandstoppedsilkproduction.AmericanSilkIn1760,amanfromMansfield,namedNathanielAspinwall,begantopromotesilktonearbytowns.HehadplantedanorchardinMansfieldandin1762,broughtinsilkwormeggs.

TogetherwithDrEzraStiles,hehadalegislaturepassedthatpaidtenshillingsforeveryonehundredmulberrytreesplantedandthreepenceperounceofrawsilk.By1800,threequartersofthepeopleinMansfieldwereraisingsilkwormsattheirhomes.SilkProductionTodayToday,ChinaandIndiaarethetwoleadingproducersofsilk,followedbyUzbekistan,Thailand,Brazil,Vietnam,NorthKoreaandTurkey.H